“Panth in danger” – Badal’s politics shifts back from Chandigarh to Amritsar

It was in early 1996 that the Shiromani Akali Dal shifted its office from Darbar Sahib Complex, Amirtsar, where it remained ever since its inception in December 1920, to Chandigarh in a rented building. This happened just after Moga Conference to mark the 75thanniversary of second oldest political party of the country, a time when the party also decided to open its enrollment for all and changed its identity from Panthic (Sikh) to Punjabi.

The shift from the historical city of Amritsar, a central place for Sikhs, to the wannabe cosmopolitan city Chandigarh — which identifies more with changing trends rather than any history or identity — also reflected a paradigm shift in politics of Akali Dal. Till this shift, the Akali Dal’s identity was “the only manifestation of collective political will of the Khalsa Panth”. After a couple of years, the office again shifted from the rented building to MLA flats and then to the party’s own plush, sprawling building.

This shift in location of office coincided with the shift of politics of Akali Dal president Parkash Singh Badal, who had by that time taken complete charge of the party and ‘project familial domination’ had already started. In Badal’s speeches words like Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiyat started replacing Sikhs, Panth and Panthic, though not entirely as anti-Congress sentiment among Sikhs was core and ensured vote base of Akali Dal.

In 1997 Parkash Singh Badal became CM for third term and Sikh issues and Panthic idiom were relegated to back burner as he started projecting himself a leader of all Punjabis. Anandpur Sahib Resolution, etc., would only find a customary mention in election manifestos in the preceding years. He would prefer never to discuss these issues and any queries about these would be ducked.

The ghosts of the past would turn Badal into an economist or messiah of development, communal harmony,etc. The party which laid a pre-condition that only a baptized Sikh could be its members and one could not be consume alcohol now had no qualms with Patits (apostate) or liquor barons as MLAs. After Sukhbir Singh Badal became SAD president in 2008 the outlook of the party changed at a faster pace.

Unlike the simple Jathedars of the past, the leaders now represented the aspiring and enterprising progeny of post liberalization era. Money bags, realtors, landed farmers who had acquired more land and properties, senior leaders — who now had multiple business interests called the shots. Akali leaders still lectured about sacrifices by “our elders” but people talked more about land, sand, liquor mafia and corruption.

This is how dramatic the change was — before the 1997 assembly elections, Badal had promised a commission to investigate police excesses, by 2012, a few police officers facing charges of serious human rights violations had become the blue eyed boys of the Badals and were rewarded plum posts.

However during this “transformation” Badal deftly maintained control on Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). The seasoned and wily politician would never forget the old saying in Akali and Punjab politics that Akali faction which controls the SGPC is the real Akali Dal and only this Akali Dal could get political power in Punjab. The president of the committee would come out of lifafa (envelope) sent by him in the SGPC general house meetings. The control was so complete that SGPC members of his party would raise both their hands in agreement with whatever was being decided on “his direction”. Sarcastically a few often observed that the raised hands did not reflect agreement but complete surrender to their supreme leader or his son.

But during all these years Sikhs of Haryana aspired for a separate committee. Though Bhupinder Singh Hooda promised a separate committee for Haryana gurudwaras, he could not deliver the promise in the last nine years.

Things were going well as per Badal’s wishes. The good doctor — the “weak Prime Minister” as Badal would term Dr Manmohan Singh — did not allow Hooda to form a separate committee in nine years. As soon as the good Doctor paved way for stronger Modi sarkar things started happening quickly and Hooda went ahead with the legislation to form HSGMC.

In the meantime the political scenario changed in Punjab, the assembly elections saw AAP make major gains in in the rural areas — the traditional support base of SAD — a clear indicator that the vote bank, which had been taken for granted in the name of Panth, was now eroding.

With the HSGMC issue emerging, a major shift has taken place in Badal’s political discourse and terminology this month. Panth and Sikhs are now central to his exhortions. It is not just an issue of “note bank”, as is generally considered that dispute is only for Golak of gurudwaras, but of “vote bank” and the “core vote bank- Sikhs”. The leader who always wanted a truly federal structure in the country and more power to states is now desperately demanding central intervention first to stop the government from forming the law and then to withdraw it after it was promulgated. But the strong PM has not been able fulfill Badal’s wishes till now.

Suddenly Badal has shifted the focus from Chandigarh to Amritsar. He has even threatened to sacrifice himself at Akal Takht for keeping the SGPC’s control on Haryana gurudwaras. Then he called “World Sikh Convention” at Manji Hall Diwan Hall, Amritsar on July 27.

Emotions are running high, at least Akali leaders say so. For the last two weeks people have not heard about development — Badal’s pet subject for the last 17 years — instead he is now talking about Panth, Sikhs, SGPC, Akal Takht and Amritsar.

Though the Sikh convention, which Badal had called, was cancelled by Akal Takht Jathedar on July 26 and the latter has also issued another directive to maintain status quo over control of Haryana Gurudwaras, that is they should remain under Badal controlled SGPC. It has become clear that name and authority of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, is being used for political ends.

The drama, light, sound, action has once again shifted from the state capital Chandigarh to Sikh religio-political capital Amritsar in which “highest authority” is also being used as an actor.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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I P Singh is special correspondent at The Times of India, Jalandhar. He covers news in Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts, and writes on politics, environmental issues, heritage preservation and contemporary trends. He specializes in deciphering religio-political peculiarities and complexities of Punjab.

I P Singh is special correspondent at The Times of India, Jalandhar. He covers news in Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr districts, and writes on politic. . .